The Biggest Box Office Hits Of 2023 So Far
Even though we're only halfway through 2023, there's already been a ton of box office big hitters that have brought audiences to theaters in their droves. With a stacked lineup of franchises releasing nearly every week and a strong slate of original movies, it is no surprise that many records and milestones have already been achieved this year. Currently setting the benchmark is "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," signifying a new — and highly profitable — era for video game movies.
At the other end of the scale, horror continues to be a thriving genre with some fresh originals and returning franchises achieving some impressive financial feats. The usually consistent superhero genre hasn't perhaps been as reliable as in previous years, but with some notable successes — and many still to be released — it remains a relatively safe bet for a box office win.
With many potential high-grossing movies still to come in 2023, the incredible box office milestones of 2023 are far from complete. For now, let's look at some of the biggest box office hits of the year so far that the upcoming releases will need to beat.
Scream VI
As horror franchises attempt to extend their lifespan through sequels, spinoffs, prequels, and requels, later entries often see a severe downturn in the box office takings. After a while, it's tough to keep audiences consistently interested and avoid sequels being carbon copies of their predecessors. However, the "Scream" franchise has broken that trend, and the latest entry, "Scream VI," is a testament to the enduring popularity of this long-running franchise. "Scream VI" not only delivered a hefty body count and some wild twists, but it also achieved a recording-breaking box office performance — continuing to show the impact "Scream" has in the modern era of horror.
"Scream VI" earned $168.9 million worldwide during its theater run, and was the first "Scream" film to gross over $150 million globally since "Scream 3" in 2000. The film's domestic box office performance was particularly noteworthy, and its estimated $108 million take is the highest domestic total in franchise history — which is pretty exceptional for the sixth entry in a franchise to achieve. "Scream VI" was an undeniable hit that continues to prove Ghostface's ability to slash up box office competitors, and the franchise's ability to break expectations of the horror genre.
John Wick: Chapter 4
The trajectory of the "John Wick" franchise throughout the years has been nothing short of phenomenal. What began as a small indie action thriller — grossing under $100 million worldwide — quickly evolved into a globe-trotting epic capable of raking in hundreds of millions of dollars. It is the kind of Cinderella story that most franchise hopefuls dream of, and with "John Wick: Chapter 4," the series hit new heights of financial success that deserve to be celebrated. "Chapter 4" grossed more than $428 million worldwide — almost $100 million more than the previous installment.
This success shows that Wick is continuing to take the world by storm, and the outstanding box office performance of "Chapter 4" was enough to push the franchise's total haul over the coveted $1 billion mark. "Chapter 4" helped solidify "John Wick" as one of the most legendary and successful action franchises of all time, and even though it was meant to be the final chapter, there are already spin-offs in the works, and a fifth film has been greenlit. Who knows how many more installments there will be, but the box office performance of "Chapter 4" continues to show how deadly this film is to its blockbuster competitors.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
There was a lot of pressure on "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" before it was released. The disappointing box office performance of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" caused many to question if the Marvel Cinematic Universe was heading for a downturn and if superhero fatigue was going to be a major concern for the studio going forward. The third Guardians adventure has quelled those concerns for now though, and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" earned a great box office haul. With Rocket's (Bradley Cooper) tragic backstory providing the emotional centerpiece, plus the usual zany antics you'd expect, it's no wonder that fans have been racing to theaters to say their tearful goodbyes to this ragtag group of heroes.
"Vol. 3" got off to a great start, earning roughly $118 million domestically on its opening weekend. The numbers overseas were just as strong and boosted "Vol. 3" to achieve a global total of more than $800 million – far surpassing the $476 million that "Quantumania" took home, and the total made by the first "Guardians of the Galaxy." In fact, "Vol. 3" was so profitable at the box office that many fans hailed James Gunn as the savior of the MCU — something that is quite funny to consider now that he is off to try and save the DC Extended Universe as well.
M3GAN
With its titular character's bizarre look and personality, "M3GAN" was written off as an extended meme rather than a box office hit before it hit theaters. However, Blumhouse and Universal got the last laugh as "M3GAN" completely blew away the competition and quickly became a massive hit. Although it was projected to earn little more than $20 million in its opening weekend, it smashed these predictions, taking $30 million when it hit theaters and eventually going on to earn more than $177 million worldwide.
"M3GAN" was such a breakout hit that a sequel is already on the cards, and set for release on January 17, 2025. The filmmakers were so confident of the film's success in fact — and the desire for a sequel — that the second film was announced just two weeks after "M3GAN" was released. "M3GAN" was the film that got 2023 off to a strong start at the box office, and it now has the potential to go from an unexpected hit to a strong and profitable franchise.
Evil Dead Rise
Since the first movie was released in 1981, the "Evil Dead" franchise has been labeled a cult favorite in the horror genre. However, it has never really been given the respect it deserves for its continual influence in pop culture, and the growing fanbase it has spawned since Sam Raimi's original movie. Now though, thanks to 2013's "Evil Dead" and 2023's "Evil Dead Rises," the series has achieved box office figures that can finally put it in the same league as other tentpole horror franchises.
"Evil Dead" made an impressive $97 million at the box office, however, "Evil Dead Rise" soared past this, earning about $145 million worldwide. Given that this franchise spawned from a film that had a production budget of around $375,000, it is pretty remarkable to see what it has become. Now that "Evil Dead" can be seen as a bankable horror franchise, the possibilities, and potential for it to grow are out there and it seems likely that more "Evil Dead" movies will be on the way.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Given that video game movies have had such an inconsistent history at the box office, it was tough to tell if "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was going to be another swing and a miss, or a huge hit. While there was a lot of criticism and concern about the voice cast in the lead-up to the film's release, it was hard to bet against the formidable forces of animation studio Illumination and Universal and 2023's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" proved to be a box office behemoth.
As it stands, the animated movie has the highest opening weekend domestically of the year, taking in over $146 million, and it has gone on to top the charts for worldwide gross as well, reaching $1.3 billion. Not only is it now the third highest-grossing animated movie of all time — sitting behind "Frozen II" and 2019's "The Lion King" — but it's also the first and only movie so far to reach a billion dollars worldwide in 2023. There's no doubt that "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" will be one of the highest-grossing films of the year and it could become a dominating force in film just as it is in the video game world.
Creed 3
It is mind-blowing to think that the "Rocky" franchise is still bringing in the big bucks some 47 years since it started, and even more mind-blowing to consider that its latest entry pulled in some of the best office numbers of the series so far. The third film under the "Creed" mantle, and the ninth in the franchise as a whole, "Creed III" set some incredible records at the box office in its opening weekend. Opening with $58 million domestically, it achieved a franchise best and according to MGM, it had the best opening for a sports film ever (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The show-stopping box office performance of "Creed III" continued beyond the opening weekend and it grossed more than $274 million worldwide — setting another new record for the "Rocky" franchise. "Creed III" was a great showing for Michael B. Jordan — who also made his directorial debut here — and while Adonis' journey seemingly comes to an end in this film, the incredible box office performance makes it hard to believe that this will be his final round.
The Pope's Exorcist
Given all the high-profile horror franchises that have returned or released new installments in 2023, it is not too surprising that "The Pope's Exorcist" kind of flew under the radar. However, it quietly had a pretty strong box office performance and its popularity means it could possibly spawn another new horror franchise. Grossing $9 million domestically on its opening weekend was a good start, but it proved to have sturdy legs and a good international showing drove its global total to an impressive result.
By the end of its theatrical run, "The Pope's Exorcist" earned more than $74 million worldwide – a feat that clearly impressed Lionsgate as there is already talk of a sequel. While currently in the shadow of bigger franchises like "Scream" and "Evil Dead" in the highest-grossing films of 2023, "The Pope's Exorcist" has undoubtedly earned its sequel, and hopefully Russell Crowe and director Julius Avery can deliver more creepy exorcism horror and get this potential franchise to an even bigger audience in the future.
The Little Mermaid
Disney's live-action remakes have been a mixed bag critically, but can generally be relied upon to do pretty well financially — capitalizing on the power of nostalgia and the love for original animated versions. "The Little Mermaid" already looks set to be one of the more successful live-action remakes, with a strong opening weekend indicative of this. Domestically, the film took around $118 million over the course of the Memorial Day weekend. This opening is significant, and comparative to the numbers for "Aladdin" which debuted on the same weekend in 2019 and eventually grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
The only possible thing holding it back is that it seems to be struggling to perform as well in overseas markets, so the chances of it reaching the same numbers as some of the other live-action remakes are a little uncertain. Still, it has had some great holds since its opening and has already more than surpassed its hefty $250 million budget and there is still plenty of potential to find further success as we head into the summer.
Fast X
Even though the "Fast & Furious" franchise has continued its stride in the post-Paul Walker era, there were still some big questions heading into "Fast X." Previous installments, "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" and "F9: The Fast Saga" didn't really create any fresh excitement and the latter's domestic box office showed some signs of decline, leading to concerns that the franchise had lost its ability to draw in audiences. While "Fast X" doesn't quell every concern, it still demonstrated that the franchise can pull in big numbers and deliver undeniable hits. Like "F9," the domestic take of "Fast X" is worrisome as it has only brought in about $138 million so far — making it the third worst-performing of the franchise so far.
Thanks to the international box office, however, "Fast X" has raked in roughly $514 million, bringing its global total to about $652 million. That places it sixth in the franchise just behind "Fast & Furious 6." There is no doubt that these films can turn a profit, and while still a success, the numbers do suggest that interest is waning. That being said, the franchise is heading towards its grand finale — in the form of a concluding trilogy — so there's plenty of potential for the numbers to grow and for the franchise to enjoy some additional success with future entries.
Skinamarink
Although it didn't gross hundreds of millions of dollars like some of the other films on this list, "Skinamarink" was undoubtedly one of the most successful films of the year so far. The feature directorial debut of Kyle Edward Ball, "Skinamarink" made a big noise earlier in the year as a must-watch indie horror experience, evoking the feeling of real-life childhood nightmares. Despite receiving some divisive reactions from audiences upon its release, "Skinamarink" took an impressive haul of just over $2 million at the global box office. While that number is small compared to most, the profit margins of this micro-budget film earn it a place on this list.
With a budget of just $15,000, the movie has made more than 133 times that at the box office which is a hugely impressive feat. Compared to most of 2023's major box office hits, "Skinamarink" isn't remotely comparable in terms of sheer numbers, but that shouldn't take away from its own financial achievements, and it proves there is still a great interest in the small, independent horror releases.
Cocaine Bear
It's safe to say that before "Cocaine Bear," Elizabeth Banks' directorial career was at a pivotal turning point. Despite the strong success of her directorial debut, "Pitch Perfect 2," she received a lot of flak for her 2019 reboot of "Charlie's Angels" — a film that received a critical panning and was seen as a box office failure. So, there was a lot of pressure on "Cocaine Bear" to be a success and even Banks acknowledged that making this film was a huge risk (per Variety). However, those concerns were put to rest after "Cocaine Bear" became a surprise box office hit.
Not only was the film well-received by critics for how it leans into the bonkers elements and dark comedy of its premise, but it also had a pretty great haul during its theatrical run. Off a budget of around $30 million, "Cocaine Bear" grossed more than $87.6 million worldwide – a great profit for an original property. Despite debuting against the second weekend of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," it had a strong opening weekend and came close to overtaking that film as the top-grossing film at the box office. Audiences lapped up the gory wackiness of "Cocaine Bear," and Banks was able to bounce back from the disappointment of her previous directorial effort.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Given the history that "Spider-Man" has at the box office, it wasn't too surprising to see "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" absolutely dominate in its opening weekend. The latest multiverse adventure for Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is one of the first big blockbusters of the summer and it certainly put up some jaw-dropping numbers. During its opening weekend, it grossed more than $120 million at the domestic box office and had a worldwide total of around $313 million. Given that the film was expected to open with closer to $80 million domestically, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" completely blew everyone away and is already poised to crush the first film's total.
For context, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" grossed just over $35 million in its opening weekend and ended its run with a global total of more than $375.5 million. "Across the Spider-Verse" not only obliterated the original film's opening weekend but is also well on its way to passing the original film's total in just a couple of weeks. The incredible box office performance of "Across the Spider-Verse" can hopefully continue, even as other big franchises make their way into theaters. There's no doubt that it will be one of the biggest hits of the summer and it may even end up as the second animated film of 2023 to reach that coveted billion-dollar mark.